Little East Conference

A brand new weekend of New England D3 basketball has arrived, which means it is time to unveil our first edition of 10 Games to Watch for the season, along with some predictions, too – who doesn’t love predictions?

Make sure to stay connected with @Noontime_Hoops on Twitter throughout the weekend for in-game updates, scores, news and more!

Women’s Basketball: Smith College at Babson College (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 12 p.m.): The Beavers fended off a late rally by the Engineers to score an important (and yes, impressive) early season win on Wednesday. Look for the Green and White to continue their mid-week momentum on Saturday against the Pioneers. PREDICTION: Babson Beavers

Women’s Basketball: Clark University at MIT (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 1 p.m.): The Engineers enjoyed an impressive start to its 2018-19 campaign, but have recently struggled in their last two outings. Expect coach Sonia Raman‘s squad to bounce back on Saturday against the Cougars in Cambridge. PREDICTION: MIT Engineers

Women’s Basketball: Univ. of New England at Roger Williams (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 1 p.m.): Can we call this game a must-win? Both teams have struggled over the past few weeks, but this is always a must-see/must-follow contest. Look for Sam Leone and Gabby Jerahian to lead the Hawks to a much-needed win. PREDICTION: Roger Williams Hawks

Women’s Basketball: Conn. College at FDU-Florham (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 2 p.m.): The Camels have been one of a few teams to watch thus far – they enter Saturday’s non-conference clash riding a five-game winning streak. Look for the Blue and White to continue their current trend and pick-up their sixth win of the season. PREDICTION: Conn. College Camels

Women’s Basketball: Bowdoin College at Colby College (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 2 p.m.): Bowdoin’s Cordelia Stewart had a big game against MIT last Sunday and should once again be a player to watch in this match-up. PREDICTION: Bowdoin College Polar Bears

Men’s Basketball: Keene State at Middlebury College (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 3 p.m.): The Panthers have enjoyed a very successful start to their 2018-19 campaign and should continue their early-season momentum against the Owls. Look for a big game from Middlebury’s Matt Folger. PREDICTION: Middlebury Panthers

Men’s Basketball: UMass Boston at Eastern Conn. State (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 3 p.m.): The Warriors have rebounded since an opening day loss to William Patterson, winning four-straight, including a 77-70 win over Rhode Island College earlier this week. PREDICTION: Eastern Conn. Warriors

Men’s Basketball: Tufts University at Babson College (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 5 p.m.): The Beavers finished last season’s Big 4 Challenge as the runner-up, but expect the Green and White to once again be in contention for some hardware this weekend, especially if Brandon Johnson continues his impressive play from earlier this week. PREDICTION: Babson Beavers

Men’s Basketball: Endicott College at Nichols College (Saturday, Dec. 1st at 6 p.m.): This is a BIG one for both teams as a win would provide the winner with an inside track for the conference crown in February. PREDICTION: Nichols Bison

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Another week of New England D3 men’s basketball is in the books, which means it is time to unveil our latest Noontime Sports Top 10, which finds Bowdoin College in the top spot followed by Tufts University and Amherst College.

The Polar Bears secured the top spot for the first time this season with recent wins over MIT (78-57) and University of New England (106-55). Bowdoin will be idle for a few days, but does return to the hardwood on Saturday when they visit Colby College for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

Tufts has enjoyed a successful start to its 2018-19 campaign, thanks to some impressive play from its underclassmen, including Janette Wadolowski, who netted a season-best 22 points on Sunday in her team’s 110-63 victory over Brandeis University. Additionally, the Jumbos have gotten a boost from first-year Molly Ryan, who is averaging 9.5 points per contest.

Amherst slipped from the top spot to the third position following a 70-67 setback to Eastern Connecticut last week. The loss snapped a 68-game winning streak, but look for Amherst to construct a new one beginning this week.

Connecticut College made the leap from the seventh position to the fifth, thanks to recent regional wins over Johnson & Wales (78-43) and Coast Guard Academy (77-62). The Camels will attempt to close out the first month of play with wins over Mitchell College and Worcester State – both games will take place away from New London.

Finally, UMass Boston remained in the tenth position for the second-straight week following a pair of wins against Keuka College (78-69) and Emerson College (66-61). Sophomores Jalani Jackson and Joie Grassi have provided a boost for the Blue and White, averaging 16.3 and 15.3 points per contest, respectively.

Another week of New England D3 men’s basketball is in the books, which means its time to unveil our latest Noontime Sports Top 10, which finds Williams College in the top spot followed by Middlebury College and Hamilton College.

The Ephs, who were second in last week’s poll, capped their Thanksgiving Weekend with back-to-back wins over Manhattanville (85-73) and Yeshiva (85-64). Williams travels to Fitchburg State on Thursday before visiting Wesleyan University on Saturday.

Nichols College moved up two spots following impressive wins over Wesleyan and Trinity College. Marcos Echevarria led Nichols with a team-high 29 points in his team’s fourth win over Trinity, while Matt Morrow produced a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Both student-athletes will be players to watch this week as Nichols faces Salve Regina on Wednesday and fourth-ranked Endicott College on Saturday.

Finally, Eastern Connecticut joined this week’s poll, thanks to a current three-game winning streak, which includes wins over SUNY Potsdam, Connecticut College and Wesleyan. The Warriors face Rhode Island College and UMass Boston this week.

A few New England D3 men’s basketball games have been recorded, which means it is time to unveil our second poll of the season, which finds Endicott College in the top spot followed by Williams College and Hamilton College.

The Gulls appear to be the team to beat (and watch) thus far following impressive wins over Babson College and MIT. Endicott erased an 18-point deficit on Sunday to beat the Beavers on the road, and seem to have some serious momentum heading into the week.

Keep an eye on MIT and Tufts University, which are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Cambridge. The Engineers rebounded from a difficult season-opening loss to the Gulls with a win over Eastern Nazarene, while the Jumbos enters the early week clash winners of two-straight.

Lastly, it appears if WPI has gained some early season momentum with wins over Albertus Magnus, SUNY Potsdam and William Patterson.